


A Regrettable Reunion

by CaptainLevi



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Case Fic, Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Garridebs moment, Halloween, HalloweenLock 2017, Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Murder, Mystery, POV Sherlock Holmes, Pre-Reichenbach, Protective Sherlock, Sharing a Bed, spooky stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-23 15:10:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12510192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLevi/pseuds/CaptainLevi
Summary: John and Sherlock spend Halloween at Bill Murray's family estate in the middle of nowhere. Spooky things start happening. Some action, violence, case fic, and of course blossoming romance.





	1. Chapter 1

"We're lost." Sherlock finally snapped. They'd been walking around in the woods for an hour now after leaving the car at the edge of the forest. There weren't any paved roads for cars to go through the woods, and so they had to hike the rest of the way to their destination.

John had been quite excited about this bizarre trip to some forest in the middle of nowhere in Wales. He had been invited by an old friend by the name of Bill Murray to stay at his family's estate there along with a group of other friends for Halloween, and Sherlock was practically dragged into the affair.

Halloween! As if the world was not already brimming with useless banalities, Sherlock thought, once again wishing he was back at Baker Street conducting an experiment or waiting for a good case. But John loved Halloween, Sherlock had noticed that. Last October he had brought a bunch of DvD's, all with ludicrous titles involving zombies and vampires. Sherlock had been forced to join in the marathon that time as well, at which he proceeded to fall asleep on the couch and wake up to a very awkward situation, his head resting on John's shoulder and his face almost buried in his neck.

"We are not." John answered calmly, folding the map in his hands and looking around.

Sherlock rolled his eyes, John could not be more obvious, or more stubborn for that matter. They should have been there by now and they were clearly lost. All trees looked alike, yet John insisted they were on the right track. On top of everything else, there was no mobile phone signal in the whole area.

"And don't forget you are not allowed to whine while we're here. We came to have a fun Halloween." John added as he took a turn between the dense trees.

"Stop bossing me around. I never wanted to come in the first place." Sherlock said. He really hadn't wanted to come, but for one thing he couldn't say no to John and his stupid handsome face, and he also didn't want to be away from him for an entirety of three days.

True, they were only flat mates, best friends as John put it, nothing more, but Sherlock had grown used to having John close all the time. He just couldn't risk spending three potentially tedious days at home without him. Also, he actually quite liked complaining to John and driving him insane. Bickering was one of their favorite activities together.

"What kind of bloody house is located in the middle of this jungle anyway?" Sherlock complained again.

"It's a forest. Jungles are in tropical areas."

"Inconsequential. I'm quite positive there aren't any serial killers around here."

"God, this is the solar system thing all over again isn’t it? Just enjoy the view. Look, isn't it amazing?" he gestured at their surroundings.

"There is nothing here that you can't get on a screensaver on any standard PC."

"Right. I forgot you prefer London's smog over actually non-toxic air. Look! There is the bridge. I told you we weren't lost."

A rickety old thing that had no affair being called a bridge stood ahead of them just as they emerged from under the canopy of trees. It was hanging over a rushing stream flowing deep below within the confines of its bed. The erosion patterns on either sides of the riverbed clearly indicated it often flooded to higher levels, Sherlock noted as he started crossing right behind John.

He wondered how the hell this thing still existed in the modern world. The wooden boards were held together with frail ropes and alarmingly creaked under their feet. Halfway through, Sherlock glanced ahead to see the estate they were supposed to be staying at, but the moment he lifted his head, his foot slipped between two of the wooden boards and he lost his balance. Before he knew it, two strong arms held his waist, pulling him up on his feet.

"Alright?" John asked, his face so close that Sherlock felt every warm huff of breath on his own cheek.

"Fine." He answered, trying to ignore the sirens going off in his head. John smiled, and Sherlock's breath hitched and his pulse soared to unreasonable levels. He pulled himself out of John's arms slowly, feeling inexplicably dazed.

When they finally reached the other edge of the bridge of death, they were able to take a good look at the estate. It was a rather big house, one of those old Victorian houses, but it was obviously renovated and regularly maintained. Still, there was something haunting and morbid about it. This coupled with the fact that it was tucked away in the middle of the forest without internet or phone reception made Sherlock make a mental note to pull a full-fledged sulk later on.

His trail of thoughts was cut when John started waving. Sherlock looked at where John was staring and saw someone standing by the house. They were still too far to make out who it was, but Sherlock could see that the stranger was in a long black cloak and their face was… could it be? Sherlock took quicker steps, squinting his eyes to take a better look. Indeed, the stranger's face was completely covered in bandages, leaving only their eyes. It was silly, Sherlock knew it was just a person who'd possibly had an injury, but there was something wrong… something hostile and blood chilling about the way he lurked there. John seemed to get the same feeling, because he stopped waving and his hand went down slowly as his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Does any of the guests have burns or scars on their face?" Sherlock turned to him.

"No… not that I know of." John gave him a confused look.

When they turned back, the stranger had vanished.

"Maybe your friend Murray is already in the Halloween spirit and wanted to prank us." Sherlock suggested as they continued walking to the house.

"He was never into practical jokes, but yeah, maybe." John shrugged.

As soon as the house door opened, it was clear the bandaged stranger was not Bill, because Bill was standing there welcoming them into the house. Sherlock knew John had met him in Afghanistan, and they had been close friends for years. He didn't know anything about the other guests except that they were Bill's friends from film school.

John pulled Bill into a hug, ruffling his hair while they exchanged insults as an expression of endearment.

"So, this is the great Sherlock Holmes we've been reading about in your blog, huh?" Bill said as he shook Sherlock's hand enthusiastically.

"You're the reason we never see Johnny anymore. You have to stop keeping him all to yourself all the time!"

"I'm certainly not." Sherlock felt his cheeks burning for some reason.

"Okay lads, you'll have to go upstairs and see which room is left for you to stay in. Everyone else arrived before you and called dibs, so I suspect you got the smallest one."

They ascended the stairs to the second floor, hauling their bags with them. Several doors were lined up along the aisle. John distractedly opened the first one and peered inside, only to back off immediately, ears pink and shooting apologies at whoever was in there. Sherlock watched in amusement as John turned to the second door and opened it as well. Again, he backed off, apologizing, but he was less embarrassed this time.

"The first one was naked" he whispered to Sherlock with a horrified expression.

"Maybe you should …" Sherlock trailed off as John opened the third door "knock first…" he finished lamely watching John back off a third time.

"Yeah. I know, right." John giggled as his face turned a deep shade of red. He knocked on the fourth door, only to discover it was the empty room, the one that was left for them.

"John, I realize your observation skills are quite primitive, so I would like to call your attention to the fact that there is only one bed in here." Sherlock said as he dumped his bag on the floor

"I'll ask Bill, and we'll see if we can swap rooms with anyone." He said as he opened the window to look outside "looks like the storm they talked about is going to be worse than expected."

*****

A couple of hours later Sherlock and john went down to meet everyone and have dinner. Three men and two women, excluding Bill, sat at the huge dining table, which was already set.

"So, you were all at film school, yeah?" John asked as he grabbed a chair on the table.

Bill started introducing everyone cheerfully as he laid down pots of hot food on the table.

"This is Susan. She's our talented actress" Bill pointed at the prettier of the two women, she was blonde and had piercing green eyes. Wedding band mark on her finger, recent, Sherlock noted.

"Hi." She said to both of them, though she was eyeing John with interest.

Bill gestured at the second woman, who had short brown hair and sharp eyes.

"Lidiya is a screenwriter. I'm sure you heard she won the national award for _Heartbeat_. It was a huge success."

Lidiya was taller and lankier than Susan. She was wearing a black velvet choker that made her neck look even longer than it was. Her delicate thin fingers twitched unnoticeably (not to Sherlock though) as she smiled to them.

"Bill, stop. You're making me blush!" She bumped his arm.

"I've watched it actually, it was brilliant!" John said.

"I just hope you won't be too famous to talk to us soon!" Bill joked and the group laughed and teased Lidiya some more.

"Max is a cameraman, Rupert is a visual effects artist, and Jake is a director."

All three men mumbled greetings to John and Sherlock. Max was dark, tall, and strikingly handsome. Rupert was almost the exact opposite. He was pale, short, and particularly stocky around the stomach area. His fingernails and eye bags told Sherlock he struggled with depression and often resorted to food for comfort. Jake was blonde and wore thick glasses. Sherlock noticed he kept fidgeting in his chair.

"By the way guys, sorry about before." John said as his face turned a deep shade of pink. "I think I walked in on some of you earlier."

"It's alright." Max smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. "That happens more than you think in our industry, what with changing rooms and all."

"So, I see you've gained that weight back, huh Rupert?" Bill teased as they all started eating.

"Well, as my mum always said, I'm not fat, I'm just fluffy." Rupert chuckled.

Dinner was brief and everyone talked amicably. They laughed as they told embarrassing stories about each other from their days at uni.

"Wish Amy was here with us. She would have loved this." Bill said, his eyes twinkling with sudden unshed tears.

Everyone but John and Sherlock stared at him in shock. And Lidiya's fork fell on the floor with a loud clatter.

"I think you've had too much wine, Billy." Max smiled nervously.

"Yes, and I don't think this is the best subject to discuss right now, yeah?" Susan snapped, then gave them all a fake smile as she tried to recollect herself.

The conversation was quickly steered in another direction, and the rest of dinner was fairly quite and friendly.

Sherlock, though, kept his eyes on the way Susan was leaning forward while she talked to John, repeatedly touching his arm and laughing at his jokes. The urge to grab John's arm and drag him away from the room was overwhelming, but Sherlock managed to keep calm.

Not for too long though. Right after the table was cleared, Lidiya seemed upset for some reason and decided to take a walk outside. Jake followed her mumbling something about not leaving her alone. Rupert went up on the roof at Bill's request to fix a leak, and Max went to his room. Susan used her most enticing creamy tone to convince John to go for a walk in the woods. It was clearly about to start raining, and soon it would be too dark, but it was obvious she had ulterior motives. John attempted to turn her down politely, but she looped her arm around his, and they were on their way in no time.

Sherlock moved without thinking, grabbing his coat and aiming for the door.

"You going out for a walk too? I'll come along, need some fresh air." Bill's voice came from behind and Sherlock turned. His cheeks were flushed from the wine he had, and he had a knowing smile on his face. Sherlock's heart jumped at the thought that Bill might have guessed what was going on, but there was no time, he had to follow John and keep him as far as possible from that unsavory woman.

"Fine. Come on." He said as he stepped outside, hearing Bill reaching quickly for his coat and following.

"So, you and John, how are things?" Bill asked as he blew air into his fists to warm them. Sherlock glanced at him suspiciously before turning back to search for a blonde head among the dense trees. He soon spotted Susan's red coat and changed direction, Bill at his heel.

"Fine. Work's fine" He remembered he was supposed to answer the question.

"But I didn't mean work." Bill panted behind him.

Interesting as it might have been, Sherlock didn't have time for this conversation. John and Susan were leaving his sight, turning between trees and bushes.

Soon, they were completely gone. Sherlock huffed in annoyance. He looked at Bill, only to find him sporting the most annoying smile, accompanied with a quirk of the eyebrow.

"What?" Sherlock unintentionally snapped. His heart was thrumming madly and he felt his lips twitching involuntarily into a pout.

"Don't worry. Johnny doesn't like her. Obviously." He looked smug as he said that, but the pain in Sherlock's heart became just a bit less excruciating at his words.

"He doesn't… I mean… I don't care. I just needed to make sure they don't get lost in this damn maze." He ran a gloved hand through his hair nervously.

Suddenly, a loud, blood-chilling scream came from ahead. Sherlock's legs moved before his brain even began to analyze what was happening. It was undoubtedly Susan's voice, and something was wrong. He shivered as fat drops of rain started falling lazily on his face, his whole body working to get to John.

Following the source of the voice, he found himself in a clearing. He blinked rain out of his eyes to see John and Susan facing a man.

It was the same man, the same huge black cape and bandaged face, but this time, he had an axe in his hand and was preparing to attack.

"John!" Sherlock screamed at the top of his lungs, making the stranger turn his face to him, though he still continued to lift the axe back above his head in preparation for the strike.

"No! Stop!" Sherlock cried desperately, he didn't know what to do, by the time he'd reach John, the attacker would have finished him off with one strike. ONE STRIKE… one wound caused by that thing would cause enough trauma for an immediate cardiac arrest. Sherlock felt sick as he heard Bill emerge from the bushes behind him.

At that, the attacker seemed to grow reluctant. He clearly hadn't expected an audience. And with one quick move and a sweep of his dreadful cape, he turned and disappeared in the bushes to his right.

Sherlock's feet led him to John and his arms wrapped around him without thought. He immediately noted he was the one trembling violently, whilst John, who had been the potential victim, stood calm and still, letting Sherlock hold him close.

"Are you alright? Who the hell was that?" Bill yelled, making Sherlock snap out of his shock. He quickly released John, who looked flustered and confused.

"I don't know, we were just about to head back to the house because of the rain when he showed up. I thought it was a prank or something."

"I don't think it was a prank." Sherlock's voice was still shaken. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Does anyone else have a property in the area?" he asked Bill.

"No… not that I know of. The surrounding land is property of my family, so anyone here is trespassing. I have no idea who that might have been."

"Let's get back. I'm scared." Susan finally spoke. Her face was pale and there were tears in her eyes.

Just as they were approaching the door, Jake appeared too.

"Have you guys seen Lidiya? I turned away for a minute and she was gone. I'm really worried she might be lost."

"No." Bill shook his head, signs of panic on his face "But she needs to get back. Someone out there tried to attack John and Susan."

"What? Are you alright?"

"We're fine. Let's check if Lidiya is already inside." John said as they all went inside the house, just as thunder started rumbling and rain intensified.

Lidiya, however, was nowhere to be found. Max came downstairs with wet hair and said he had been in the shower and couldn't hear anyone coming in.

A few minutes later, Rupert came down the stairs from where he had been fixing the leak on the roof. He too said that he did not see anyone leaving or entering the house other than those standing here.

They all sat in the dining room after deciding to wait for Lidiya for a bit before freaking out.

"This isn't how I imagined the reunion would be." Bill said sadly as he handed coffee to everyone.

"Well, you got it off to a bad start by bringing up you know who!" Max snapped.

"You mean your friend Amy? The one who died?" Sherlock asked. It was clear something wrong was going on in this group of friends, a secret had been waiting for years to be revealed.

"What happened?" He asked Bill again "She must have been too young to just pass away."

"Sherlock! Not good!" John whispered, but Sherlock ignored him.

"It's alright, John." Bill said and looked at the group. They all stared anywhere but each other. Bill continued. "She was part of our group at film school. She was a brilliant writer. She was cheerful and kind, but one day… we found her dead in her dorm room. She had taken her own life, and we never found out why. I keep thinking if we did… we could have helped her somehow."

"It wasn't our fault, Bill." Jake said.

"Hold on… what the hell is that?" Rupert suddenly stood and came closer to the window.

Everyone turned to look, and were faced by a horrifying scene. Outside, the deranged bandaged man was…. Floating? No, it couldn't be! And yet, he looked as if he was flying in the dark under the heavy rain. It was only a second, but he passed by outside behind the glass, and peering from under his huge cape was Lidiya's head. Her skin was bluish and her eyes were wide open, pale, and empty. She was clearly dead.

Susan started screaming in horror. John got up and was out of the door in the time it took everyone to comprehend what was happening. Sherlock followed immediately. Once they were outside, they went around the house to the dining room window, but there was no one there.

Sherlock could hear Bill panting behind them in the dark.

"Call the police. Now!" he instructed. He turned back just in time to see John running towards the thick wall of trees ahead.

"John! We'll never find them, it's pitch black out here!"

But John kept on running. Soon, they could hear Jake, Max, and Rupert moving around them in the dark, but it was difficult to tell where each of them was standing.

A thud boomed in the quietness of the night, and Sherlock's heart leapt.

"John! Where are you?" he called.

"I'm okay, I tripped on something." John's voice came from somewhere ahead and Sherlock followed it. He took out his phone and turned on the flash light. Finally, he was able to see John kneeling on the grass. He ran to help him up.

"I'm okay. Here, give me that, what did I trip on?" John grabbed the phone from Sherlock's hand and the puddle of light spilled on the ground.

There wasn't any doubt about it, there was a bloody severed leg there, and Sherlock couldn't help taking a step back in horror.

A scream came from somewhere close. John and Sherlock were on the move again. Moments later, they found the other three men gathered around something. Jake had a torch and was pointing it at Lidiya's also severed head and torso.

But how could it be? Sherlock's mind raced frantically, they just saw Lidiya being carried by that man across the window! How did he manage to cut her up like this?

"Let's stay calm, everyone." John said. He seemed the only one to have maintained his composure. The others were all breathing hard and Rupert was sniffing repeatedly.

"We'll go back to the house together. Stay close. We'll call the police, and then we'll simply leave."

"Yeah, let's go." Jake's voice shook a bit but he started moving all the same.

They found Bill waiting by the door looking grim and barely holding himself together.

"What is it?" Sherlock asked him, though he thought he knew what was wrong.

"The phone is dead… I don't know if it's because of the storm or…"

"Oh god!" Rupert screamed, "The bandaged man must have cut the line! We need to leave now! I'm not staying here waiting to be butchered by that freak!" He wailed and just like that, turned around and ran away.

Sherlock and John followed him through the dark to where he stood by the bridge. However, there was no bridge anymore. It had fallen down and the frail ropes were being washed away by the rising stream below.

"Shit. At least it didn't give way while one of us was on it." Max said as he caught up with them.

"It didn't give way." Sherlock said, pointing at the two pillars on either side. "Look at the marks. Someone cut the ropes off with something sharp… like an axe."

"Oh god! We're all going to die!" Rupert whimpered.

"I knew I shouldn't have come" Jake muttered.

"Stop acting like children!" Sherlock snapped at them. He couldn't hear himself thinking with them moaning around him.

"Come one. Let's get back. It's better if we all stay together until we figure this out." John led the way and they all followed.

\-----

"Alright. First of all, you all need to stay calm. Lidiya was killed outside, and we should be fine inside as long as we make sure all entrances are locked." John said and everyone started checking all the windows, verandas, and doors.

Yet something didn't quite make sense to Sherlock. Why would the murderer pass by the window and go around the house into the forest to dump Lidiya's body there? It was as if he'd wanted them to see him for some reason.

Everyone retired to their bedroom for some rest after double checking that the house was secure. John and Sherlock headed to their room as well.

Sherlock sat at the edge of the bed, hands steepled under his chin while John changed into a pair of pajamas. He suddenly became aware of John standing by the bed looking at him

"What?"

"I'd go sleep in Lidiya's room, but I'd rather we stay together." John said, his hand left scratching at his nape.

"Yes. It's fine. Go to sleep."

"What about you?"

"Sleeping slows me down, and I need to think."

"Sherlock, just come to bed, I won't be able to sleep if I'm not sure you're there." John blurted out, his face turning pink. He was worried, and it was finally showing on his face. But amazingly, he seemed to be worried about Sherlock, rather than himself. He wanted to keep an eye on him and Sherlock simply found himself nodding.

He changed into his pajamas too and slipped under the covers. John made a sound between a sigh and a scoff.

"What?" Sherlock whispered.

"Just... you. I bring you along on a trip to relax and _this_ happens!"

"If you mean I'm quite lucky then I agree. I didn't expect this dull trip to turn into an exciting case. This is at least an 8." Sherlock said seriously, but John burst out laughing.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm bound to be followed by trouble when I'm with you. Very Halloweeny indeed…"

Sherlock hummed in response, then, remembering something, he scooted closer to John.

"Why do you think he tried to attack you in the forest?"

"He's a psycho. He probably would have attacked anyone." John yawned.

"But he was aiming the axe at you, not Susan. Why?"

"Dunno… Let's get some sleep and we can think properly in the morning."

It wasn't long before John was breathing deeply. His right hand was lying on the bed so close to Sherlock's face, tantalizing him. It was warm and unbearably comfortable, and Sherlock couldn't stop staring at John's mouth as he took deep steady breaths.

"Hey" John opened his eyes halfway, his words lazy and sleep-addled. "Can't sleep?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, he lifted the hand lying on the bed between them to stroke Sherlock's face tenderly. Sherlock sighed, leaning into the touch, and found himself moving closer until he was engulfed in John's arms and warmth.

John shifted to kiss his forehead, and Sherlock shivered, nuzzling into his neck and inhaling his scent. Soon, they both slipped into deep sleep.

It was minutes… or maybe hours later, when Sherlock opened his eyes with a jolt. He was lying almost on top of John, with his head on his doctor's warm chest. He knew he woke up for a reason, so he lifted his head to survey the room.

His heart sank and his brain froze. The bandaged stranger was looming over them, holding his axe above his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all stolen from an episode of Case Closed. Though when I watched it in my language it was simply called Detective Conan, and yes that's a reference to ACD, as this brilliant anime is inspired by him.
> 
> Also.. sorry to any Brit reading this, i'm sure this is super cringe-worthy to you guys, forgive this ignorant non-European who has no idea what she's talking about.
> 
> Second chapter is on the way. Thanks to anyone reading! xoxoxoxo


	2. Chapter 2

Everything that happened afterwards was a blur. Sherlock's most basic instincts took charge. He lifted a foot and shoved John away to the other side of the bed, simultaneously pushing himself back on the floor. The murderer's axe wedged itself right in the spot where John's head was a second ago.

John grunted as he opened his eyes and tried to make sense of what was going on. In that time, their assailant had managed to pull back his axe and was turning to John.

So, He really _was_ after John. Why? Sherlock didn't have time to think, he got up and launched himself at the attacker, grabbing him around the waist before he could reach John.

They both collapsed to the floor. Sherlock was vaguely aware of John screaming his name from somewhere behind him before his head hit the floor and reality dissolved into darkness.

He didn't know how long it was before he felt himself being gently held. Familiar warmth and scent kept him from panicking again as he opened his eyes. He was still on the floor, with John staring down at him, and everyone else standing around them. Sherlock grunted in paint as he tried to get up. John's arm circled his shoulder protectively.

"Stay down. Let me see your eyes, I need to check if you have a concussion."

"I'm fine. I need to know how he got in." he muttered as he stood up on shaky legs.

"The window." Bill said, pointing at the bottom of the glass, where a clean circle had been cut just near the lock switch. The window was wide open and was letting in cold wind and sporadic drops of rain.

"He used a glass cutter! This guy knows what he's doing." Max said.

"He got away when he heard Bill and the others approaching. I didn't… I couldn't do anything before checking on you." John explained, still staring at Sherlock, as if fearing he'd disappear any second.

"We need to stay together guys. No more splitting up." Jake said, and they all nodded in agreement and headed downstairs.

"John, something is wrong." Sherlock whispered to John as they walked behind the others.

"What is it?"

"The floor in our room is dry."

"And…?" John stared at him.

"If the attacker came from outside, he would have had muddy or at least wet feet. He would have dragged something inside with him… a leaf… anything. But the floor is clean."

"Shit." John's face drained of color "You think it's someone… here."

Sherlock nodded "I need to answer two questions first though. First, how he managed to pass by the window with Lidiya while we were all in the dining room watching, and second, why he's after you."

"What? But he attacked us both."

"No. he was meaning to kill _you_ , John, and believe me, if he had, he would not have got out of the room alive."

John's eyes were soft as his hand brushed Sherlock's palm gently. They locked eyes and for a moment, they were the only ones there, drawn into one another and connected. Each of them peering into the other's thoughts like his own. They didn't have to say anything. It was well understood by now that neither could live without the other, and watching someone attempting to take John's life was as if they were attempting to rip out Sherlock's own heart.

They joined the others at the table, Sherlock sat next to John. He had no intention of letting him out of his sight as long as they were in that damn place. He surveyed the group. Everyone looked tense, exhausted, and terrified. There was no way to tell for sure if any of them was the culprit, but all the clues led to that conclusion.

"First he kills Lidiya, then he attacks John and Sherlock. What is this maniac planning to do?" Max said as he rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Maybe… maybe he plans on killing us all one by one!" Rupert said with a shaky voice.

They all stared at him frozen. Susan burst into tears, and Jake put an arm around her.

"I'm surprised you didn't kick that bastard's arse, John. That's more your style." Bill said as he fiddled with something in his pocket.

"I know" John's face went pink. "I just froze for some reason. Thankfully Sherlock was there to save my life."

They both smiled at Sherlock, eliciting a massive eye roll on his part. "What else would I have done?" He caught a glimpse of what Bill had in his pocket and paused halfway through the sentence. "What do you have there, Bill?" he asked.

Bill turned distracted eyes at him. He took his hand out of his pocket as if he just realized what he was doing. "Oh, this. It's Lidiya's choker. I found it by the front door."

"What?" Sherlock's tone was sharper than intended. The others, who were still engaged in conversation about the murderer turned to him.

"I think she might have dropped it when she left to go on her walk. You know, before…" Bill fell silent, staring sadly at the choker in his hand.

"What is it?" John asked. As always, he immediately sensed something was on Sherlock's mind.

"Lidiya had her choker on when the murderer carried her past the window." Sherlock whispered so that only John and Bill could hear him.

"What? Are you sure? I mean… it was just a fraction of a second, I don't remember noticing…"

"I'm sure, John. If she had her choker on when she died then it should have fallen outside, not here where Bill found it. This only more proof the killer is someone here in this house."

"So was either of you able to get a look at that psycho when he attacked you?" Max asked, interrupting their hushed conversation.

"No." John shook his head.

"Bugger. We still don't know anything about this freak." Rupert said.

"Wrong." Sherlock said "His face was still bandaged, but I grabbed a hold of him, so I can tell you he is of a medium build. We also know he's a man. A woman would not have been physically able to carry Lidiya's body and lift an axe that size above her head so easily unless she was athletic, which I know isn't true because I felt his body."

He fell silent. He didn't want to reveal his suspicion that the murderer was in the room just yet. He didn't want to prompt whoever it was to do something before he could be sure about his identity.

He started revising the data at hand. First, he could rule out Susan and Bill, who was with him the moment John was attacked in the forest. Therefore it was one of the three men: Rupert, Max, or Jake. They all knew Lidiya for years and she could have easily given any of them a motive to kill her, but why John? He only met them when he arrived here…

His thought process paused at that. That's it! When he arrived here!

"John!" Sherlock took John's arm and dragged him to the far end of the room, out of everyone's earshot. "When we got here, you walked in on some of the guests in their bedrooms."

"Yeah. So?"

"Did you see anything strange? Bandages or a cape or anything out of the ordinary?"

"Um... I can't remember, some of them were changing and I looked away and shut the doors quickly." He fell silent, but he furrowed his brows as if he was remembering something.

"What?" Sherlock prompted impatiently

"Now that you mention it, something did strike as not right, but it was… more of a feeling. I can't really put my finger on it."

"Think, John. Come on! This is the reason he's after you, I know it."

At that precise moment, thunder struck loudly outside, and all the lights went off, drowning the place in complete darkness.

"Shit, the generator is supposed to start working automatically. I'll have to go check on it." Bill said.

"I'm going with you" John said.

"Me too." Sherlock moved with him and John nodded.

Bill grabbed a candlestick from the chest of drawers and lit it. It spilled a faint puddle of light, but at least Bill could see where he was going and John and Sherlock followed.

They walked slowly in the dark hallway leading to the basement where the back-up generator was stored. Sherlock's eyes were fixed on the back of John's head. He had a bad feeling about this, and apparently so did John, because he suddenly stopped and looked at Sherlock, pressing a finger to his lips.

Bill stopped too, and he and Sherlock stood on either side of John, who kept staring at something down the hall. It quickly became clear what it was, because something glinted in the dark and Sherlock stopped breathing when he recognized the axe.

John moved before anyone got the chance to even react. He aimed a high kick at the attacker's hand, knocking axe to the floor with a loud clatter. He moved back to a defensive stance, clearly this time ready to put his military combat skills to use. However, the mysterious bandaged man seemed to feel helpless without his axe and disappeared into the darkness again. Bill moved to follow, but Sherlock and John stopped him.

"That's what he wants. He attacks when we're on our own and when our guard is down. It's better if we stick together and not give him what he wants."

When they reached the basement, Bill quickly restarted the generator and the lights were back on, but on their way back, they heard loud noises from the dining room. They found the group gathered around the huge window. The same one the killer had passed by when he took Lidiya away. But this time, it was completely shattered and pieces of glass littered the floor.

"He must have smashed the glass and entered through the window." Susan said.

"Again? How is he able to reach this window anyway? Does he keep climbing trees?" Jake said.

Sherlock noticed that the window's lock switch was off. Why would the intruder open it if he smashed the glass to get in, unless of course he opened it, got outside, and then smashed the glass towards the inside of the room to make it look like he came from outside. It was only further confirmation of his theory, but he needed more. He peered outside to take a look at the wooden railing, and he found two deep grooves in the wood.

A theory was taking shape in his mind. Everything clicked into place except for one part… John. What did John see?

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Everything suddenly fell into place in his head, and the euphoria of it made his heart thrum madly in his chest. He moved away from the window, standing in front of John to shield him from the man he now knew was the murderer.

"Sherlock?" John called from behind "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm okay, John. In fact, I'm more than okay. I now know who killed Lidiya and tried to kill you three times."

Everyone froze, gawking at him stupidly.

"It's so clear now, actually it's rather simple. Should have seen it earlier when…"

"But we know who did it!" Max interrupted "It’s the creepy bandaged man from the woods!"

"Are you sure the killer is not just making you think he's an outsider? Just use your brains a little. You thought he went inside our room after he climbed a tree, used a glass cutter, and sneaked in through the window. And yet the floor was spotless afterwards. He did not drag a speck inside, did he?"

"You're right. How could that be?" Susan said.

"Simple. The room next to ours was Lidiya's, and it was vacant. He used it to get out on the balcony and get to our room's window. He then simply went out the window and back to Lidiya's room and rejoined everyone with deep concern on his face. No one noticed he was late as I was unconscious and everyone was sleepy and confused."

"Alright then." Jake crossed his arms defensively "If he is one of us, then how were we all able to see him pass by the window with Lidiya?"

"Oh, that was smart. I admit that threw me in for a loop at first, but it's also simple. What if the killer wasn't outside at all that moment? What if it was just an illusion? A simple trick using a dummy and some piano wires."

"But… Lidiya was with him" Bill interrupted.

"True, but she was already dead. He attached her to a dummy wearing the same bandages and black cape. Then, using two guide wires that he tied to the balcony railings and the roof above, he made the dummy rush by the window. Then, when we were all in shock, he cut the wires quickly. It was very effective. He made us think the killer had run off into the woods and we went after him. You see, it was an easy task to accomplish. At least it was for someone who's used to doing this on the set. You were the only one who had a chance to get on the roof and prepare all this, Rupert."

For a moment, no one said anything at all. Then, Max laughed nervously "You're joking right?"

"I'm not. Look at the grooves that the piano wires made on the railings outside. As a special effects artist, you'd have plenty of experience rigging up a thing like that, Rupert."

"Alright then." Rupert said calmly. "If I had Lidiya's body, then how the hell did we find it in the woods? I was right behind you, I could not have had the time to put the body there, go back and then follow you. And if I had carried her body, you would have seen it of course"

"There is no doubt Lidiya's body was moved from the house to the woods. Lidiya had her choker on when she was carried past the window, but Bill found it in the house. If it had fallen, then it would have landed outside or in the woods. The truth is, Lidiya was carried out of the front door to the outside, and that's where Bill found the choker."

"Oh come on! Everyone saw me in the woods! If I had a body with me, then you would have seen it!"

"Oh right, but you didn't have her body, you were just carrying her head."

Everyone gasped in horror, and John visibly shuddered.

"The head must have already been severed. After all, the only part of Lidiya we saw when she was being carried was her head. The rest of her body was covered in the cloak… or so we thought, but it wasn't really there. It was already in the woods, so you just had to move the head."

"Why are you doing this?" Rupert finally lost his clam demeanor and snapped at Sherlock. "You don't even know me! And why would I attack John? I just met him! I can't possibly be the murderer!"

"Go ahead" Sherlock smiled as he knew the best part of the case was about to be revealed. "Tell us why you can't possibly be him. You have proof, don't you? Go ahead, say it."

Rupert started to visibly sweat, but he didn't utter a word. Sherlock went on.

"Alright. I'll say it for you. You can't be him because you're overweight and he isn't."

Everyone sighed in clear relief except Rupert himself.

"That's right Rupert! Sherlock said the killer had a medium build!" Max said, patting Rupert's back.

"Thank goodness! I was starting to worry. Why didn't you just say that Rupert?" Susan asked.

"Maybe he was afraid it would look like he's leading us to it." Sherlock said. "Or maybe he's worried I'd ask him if he _really_ is overweight." He quite enjoyed the look of utter shock on everyone's faces.

"You see. Rupert is not that stocky around the stomach. It's just a bodysuit. Another benefit of being around props on set. When you ran outside behind us, you hid Lidiya's head under the belly of the fat suit. It was the easiest thing in the world to just dump the head somewhere outside. The other body parts were already scattered there. Simple but brilliant. No one would have ever suspected it was you."

Sherlock fell silent for a moment, getting to this part was making him angry now as he remembered he was so close to losing John.

"But something unexpected happened and almost ruined your entire plan." Sherlock tried to keep his tone calm.

"When John arrived, he walked in on you while changing. What he actually saw but couldn't remember was you without the fat suit. Proof that you were not overweight at all. John didn't piece it together then, but you couldn't risk it, what if he remembered later? It was a loose end in need of tying up, so you decided to commit two murders instead of one. Your first attempt in the woods was a failure, and you were beginning to panic that John would be leaving before you could get rid of him, so you cut the phone lines and then the bridge."

The silence was heavy and loaded, as if something was about to explode in the room. Sherlock felt John move next to him, getting ready for what was to come.

"You must have planned everything when Bill sent the invitations last month." John said. "Does it have to do with Amy? Your friend who committed suicide?"

Rupert kept staring at the floor for a moment, seemingly struggling with himself, but instead of exploding, he simply sighed.

"Yes. Everything he said is true. I killed Lidiya, and yes, it has to do with Amy. That script that Lidiya won the national award for? She stole it from Amy. She stole everything from her and refused to give her any credit, this is why she committed suicide."

"Oh my God!" Susan sniffed.

"Amy called me that day, told me everything." Rupert whimpered as tears fell freely from his eyes. "She told me she'll never trust anyone ever again. Lidiya deserved to die. I avenged Amy's death, and justice has been served."

Everyone seemed speechless and affected, but Sherlock was having none of that.

"Oh please, enough of this nonsense." Everyone turned to him in shock, but he went on "I don't feel sorry for you… You killed Lidiya to avenge Amy's death, but then you tried to kill John just to cover up your tracks. That's not justice, you're not a hero. You're just an axe murderer."

\------

The trip back to London was quite. John seemed distracted and lost in his own thoughts, and Sherlock was just happy to have him away from that dreadful place.

"So, um… Happy Halloween, I guess." John said as they finally shut the door to 221B behind them.

"I'll never go on a trip with you ever again, especially not on bloody Halloween." Sherlock said.

"Oh, are you superstitious now?" John asked, laughing.

"No, John. I just never want to lose you." Sherlock's tone was serious. He had to say it, had to tell John that the thought of being without him was so unbearable, it almost drove him to tears.

He looked into John's blue eyes, drinking them in, thanking whatever deity out there that allowed him to have him. A whole new perspective and fresh appreciation of his John overwhelmed him since he saw that axe aimed at his head. He constantly fought the urge to put his head on John's shoulder or hold his hand and take his pulse just to make sure he was alive and really there.

Quite unexpectedly, he wasn't the one to give in to his urges. John was the one to move closer and put his arms around him. Sherlock sighed as he buried his nose in John's soft hair. John's smell, voice, and body all filling his senses and comforting him in the most intimate way imaginable.

"I didn't know," John's voice was muffled as he spoke into Sherlock's shoulder.

"What?"

"That… you cared."

"John," Sherlock leaned back to look at him properly "I… I care. I care so much. I don't know what I would have done…" He struggled to find the right words. He didn't know how to say this. The feeling was so immense that it couldn't possibly be put into a proper sentence

Luckily, John seemed to understand. He moved closer, and just like that, their lips were pressed together. Sherlock wondered how his legs still managed to hold his weight as he melted into the kiss. He had kissed people before, but always for a purpose, for a case. He was never kissed like this before. He felt cherished as John's fingers played with his hair and his other hand cupped his jaw tenderly.

They stood there, chest to chest, connected in every way, and it felt like heaven. Tenderness quickly turned into passionate heat as John licked into his mouth. Sherlock simply followed his lead, ready to receive whatever John gave him.

John bit into his lower lip, and Sherlock lost all thought process. Deft hands roamed his back and descended slowly to his bottom. The hands cupped one of his cheeks and pushed him closer until he felt John's erection on his hip. He broke the kiss, gasping for air. John kissed his jaw and neck and let his hand wander again until it was on the tented front of Sherlock's trousers.

"Is this okay?" He asked into the skin under Sherlock's ear. Sherlock hummed in response because that was all he was capable of with John practically worshipping him like that.

More and more functions shut down as John worked his flies and shoved his hand down his pants greedily. He was reduced to one single feeling… one utter pleasure. John stroking him and kissing his neck while he supported most of his limp weight.

He was vaguely aware of the sounds and pleas he was making. It must have been embarrassing, but he couldn't care with John's warm hand working his erection, his thumb stroking the slit and drawing small circles on the head. He wasn't going to last long, but John seemed out of it too, so he let go.

He claimed John's mouth again and plunged his tongue into it. His orgasm crashed through him like thunder, as he was completely and utterly engulfed by everything John… John… John.

He didn't know how long it was before he came to, but he opened his eyes to the hottest thing he'd ever seen. John stroking himself desperately while just looking at him… just staring at Sherlock, taking him in, and drawing pleasure from the mere thought that he existed. John shuddered in his arms as he came, and they both collapsed into each other, breathing the same air.

"John… I think I love you." Sherlock whispered into John's hair, because it was that moment that he pieced it together and figured it out, he loved him… Shit.

But John just giggled. "I think I love you too." He said and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is posted in the right time, I feel like it's too late or something, but I couldn't post it earlier  
> Also, sorry if this was case-heavy, but I'm kinda obsessed with mysteries, I spent my entire childhood gobbling every word Agatha Christie ever write. 
> 
> Thanks so much to anyone reading and I really hope you liked it, hugs <3


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